


20XX: Collections

by bellygunnr



Category: 20XX - Fandom, Rockman | Mega Man - All Media Types
Genre: Collections - Freeform, Ficlets, War, loss of limb
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-07
Updated: 2017-11-07
Packaged: 2019-01-30 17:26:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12658089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bellygunnr/pseuds/bellygunnr
Summary: Nina reflects, and thinks.





	20XX: Collections

_**The War –**_  
They came for my family in the night.  
  
“Sorry kid, but soldiers need food, and your parents make that food.”   
  
So they had. So we all had.   
  
My parents agreed to the military’s demands and converted their farm and research facility for wartime production. With money from the government, they expanded, pushing all their resources into making food for the army.   
  
Beef, milk, leather, and experiments.   
  
I ran away, eventually, from my parents. I ran away with stowed away cash I stole from my father. I used it to saw off my arm and replace it with a gun.  
  
 ** _Hidden Ace –  
_** It was then I met Ace.  
  
He claimed to have no family, no ties, save for the sword in his hands. His face was shrouded in a constant dark, eyes a piercing blue, and I had to wonder if he were a robot. At least, a cyborg.   
  
 "I want to fight this war on my own terms.“  
 "Funny, I just want to fight.”   
 "Good enough for me. I’m Nina.“

 ** _The City Front –_**  
Ace turned out to be entirely human. He introduced me to his outfitter, a ragged man named Ritz, who offered to build me my own armour.  
  
I wanted to go further than that. 

But I accepted the armour, forbid my tongue from saying foolish things.  
  
If I wanted to be half-machine, I could achieve that myself.   
  
 Ace and I eventually opened up a contract service, offering our combat skills for a fair sum of cash.   
  
 "You’re good with a gun, Nina.”   
 "You’re not so bad with a blade, Ace.“  
  
 ** _In the Night –  
_** It was sometime in the night, during a lull in the fighting, that I processed everything I had done. For the first time, my body ached, especially my shoulder. It was a deep, penetrating kind of pain that left me writhing and unable to sleep.   
  
I stumbled out of my room. I could feel my lost arm, dangling uselessly by my side, a mere phantom.

This had never happened before.   
  
I popped my buster back into its socket.

 _ **Flesh and Metal –**_  
”… I don’t know if I want to be human, Ace.“   
 "Whaddaya mean, Nini?”   
  
The nickname strikes me in the heart each time. Ace had proven himself to be emotional and caring behind doors. The nickname was an endearing one.  
  
“I don’t know yet.” 


End file.
